Gunslinger Girl Fan Fiction ❯ The Alpha Effect: Inizio-Encounter ❯ Chapter 4

A/N: Sachi is a female Japanese name meaning bliss. Dinah is female name of Hebrew origin meaning judgment.

 

IV

 

Rain glazed over the roof of the tenement building like a sheet of glass. Off in a corner, a small shack stood in proud indifference. The rain poured from the slanted, sheet-metal roof; landing in glass jugs below.

The interior of the shack was that of bare necessity. A simple cot sat in a corner; next to a desk with nothing more than a lamp and phone as decorations. The shack's sole resident sat along an enlarged windowsill eating a sandwich, his piercing green eyes watching the soothing rhythm of the raindrops.

 

Every so often, Alpha's eyes drifted to the folder on the table in the center of his room before his concentration would return to his meal. Closing his eyes, Alpha's thoughts wandered to the last assignment under his current retainer.

 

*****

 

A long yawn escaped Alpha as he sat on a rooftop. He was normally an early riser, but never this early. The music blaring through his headphones muffled the sound of the piercing wind.

 

Giving himself one last stretch, Alpha sat on the ground folding his legs. Pulling a rectangular case in front of him, he opened it to reveal a disassembled Browning BAR Safari semi-automatic rifle.

 

“Good morning, Sachi,” he mutters before reassembling his rifle.

 

After twisting tight the silencer and adjusting the ballistic optimized shooting system, he went to work adjusting the scope. Pulling out a box of .338 Federals, he loads the magazine with three rounds and dismisses three feathered vermin from the sky.

 

“Overkill, perhaps?” Alpha jokes after witnessing the third round tear one of the vermin in half. “Well, calibration's good and all's well.”

 

Walking to the edge of the rooftop, he eyes the serene world before him. The sun is just rising over the horizon welcoming a new day. The people are beginning their daily routines and today a man with bad intentions will breathe his last. Setting the rifle down at his side; he climbed on the ledge swinging his legs in boredom.

 

Hours upon hours of waiting ensued.

 

“You see?” he said to himself. “This is why I like my marks in advance. It's cold, I'm hungry, and hey…was that lightning?”

 

Waiting a minute more, another bolt reined loose from the sky.

 

“One-one thousand, two-one thousand…” Alpha counted as if to pass the time.

 

First twenty-two, then twenty, after a while Alpha counted to fourteen before a joyous smile lit his face. Grabbing his rifle, he jumped back to the rooftop running back to his case. Sitting on the floor once more, he removed the rounds from his Browning before disassembling the rifle. After placing the gun pieces into their many places, he closed and locked the case before turning it over. Opening the other side, he revealed a disassembled Maddi-Griffin Model 89.50 caliber rifle.

 

Pulling out a small set of tools, Alpha quickly assembled the rifle.

 

“You ready for a little fun and adventure, Dinah?” he spoke to the instrument of death.

 

Opening a small pouch within the case, he pulled out another smaller case. The dull metallic luster was its only decoration. Opening the small case revealed five rounds bearing UD .50 cal. along the jacket. After loading the round into the magazine and making it ready, Alpha adjusted the sight to compensate for the wind.

 

“I know your cooped up in there most of the time old girl, but today I make it up to you.”

 

The motorcade pulled onto the street exactly as his retainer had predicted. Lining up right in front of him, Alpha took aim. Taking one breath, and then holding the next, he waited for a single flash. When it arrived, Alpha squeezed the trigger releasing the lethal round. Putting the rifle down at his side, Alpha squatted behind the ledge. When the motorcade sped up weaving through traffic, he knew the mission was a success.

 

After tucking away his rifle, Alpha took a long lead before taking a running jump to the next building. Still running, he leaped from roof to roof toward the building his retainer told him would be safe.

 

*****

 

Eating the last bit of his sandwich, Alpha hopped down from the windowsill. Walking over to a counter area, he kneeled before a pail of water upon arrival. Afterward he dipped his hands in the cool liquid before taking a towel from a refrigerator door. Taking a bottle of milk from the refrigerator;, he walked back to the center table. Taking his Fairburn-Sykes knife in hand, he stabbed the tin lid giving it a quarter turn.

 

Sitting at the table, Alpha took a swig of milk as he opened the folder. The folder contained pictures of the Section 2 facility. One-by-one, Alpha remembered each face and body. Facial expressions, posture shifts, each subtlety was branded in his mind. Spending a few minutes with each photo, he stopped when he came to an image of a lone Triela.

 

There was something different about her. The eyes of this girl were hard and cold like tempered steel. Her ponytails gave off an air of innocence, yet her demeanor was one of self-confidence.

 

`That kind of self-assurance is meant to be earned instead of given, and this blonde innocent exhibits just that,' Alpha thought.

 

After a while he returned to viewing the other pictures, spending a few minutes with each one as he did before. Soon he came to a picture of Jean wearing a gray suit. Standing behind two men, he displayed an anxious atmosphere. Without realizing it, Alpha stood up staring hard at the picture.

 

After several minutes he utter a simple phrase, “I remember you.”

 

In an instant he released the picture tossing his blade at the photo. The knife imbedded itself in the picture carrying it to the wall. The knife pierced the photo directly in the center of Jean's image.

 

To be continued

 

B

 

Author's notes: It's been a rough ride returning to the fanfic world. I'd like to take time here to thank Emperror and Captain Kurt Hoffman for their support and kind words I'd also like to thank Colonel Marksman for his criticism however harsh. Last, but certainly not least I'd like to thank all of you (you know who you are) who read this fanfic adding to the hits counter.

 

As a special bonus I'm including an outtake from Chapter 2. This scene was originally inspired by Sintendo's, A Lighter Side. It was cut because I thought it took away from the dramatic-suspense I intended for this fic. So I include it now as a solemn thank you. Enjoy.

 

B

 

“Here is your target,” Lorenzo said to Jean.

“The Ambassador to Turkey?” Jean responded.

“Yes, who else. He'll be arriving at the specified hotel tomorrow.”

“Very well. What time will he be arriving?”

“Sometime in the afternoon.”

“Sometime…”

“In the afternoon, yes.”

“Anything more you can tell me?”

“Oh yes, he travels everywhere by motorcade and only during daylight.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He also tends to change his schedule around constantly so he could arrive in the morning or at dusk.”

“Well…”

“Yes…Jean,” Lorenzo sighs now impatient.

“Is there really nothing else you can tell me?”

“There might've been, but we had to let Mauricio from surveillance go. Cutbacks, you know.”

“Yeah, cutbacks, right.”

“And he had a habit of taking pictures of women through their windows.”

“So?”

“They were usually undressing or bathing.”

“I…see.”

“Anything else?”

“…Well…I…um…no.”-

“I pray for your success.”

 

After closing the door behind him, Jean took three steps before slouching. The reality of his next assignment took its course and had now fully sunk in.

 

“This is gonna suck!”